Lust
by Darkfirelight
Summary: Starts in 2X04 "Red" and goes onward, when Clark invites the others to go to a bar with him Chloe says yes, from there things escalate.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville or anything in Smallville, unfortunately, if I did then maybe Clark wouldn't have turned into such a massive... Well, you know. XD

Summary: Starts at 2X04, When Clark goes to the study session and invites the others to go to the bar with him, Chloe agrees, from there things spiral out of control.

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><p>"You guys wanna go to a bar?" The question was spontaneous and unexpected, both Lana and Pete staring at him with wide eyes, shocked at this unexpected behaviour, whereas Chloe raised both eyebrows as she stared at him, wondering if perhaps he had changed more than she had first thought during her internship. "Clark, you can commit academic harikari but the rest of us really need to cram for this test." Even as she replied however her eyes kept glancing to the side in thought, as though considering. His eyes narrowed at her, an eyebrow raising, sending shivers down her spine.<p>

"C'mon guys, high school is supposed to be fun, _this_ is not fun." He gestured, disgusted, at the piles of books in front of him.

Pete briefly considered before declining, realizing that even if they did get alcohol Clark couldn't get drunk and he didn't find it half as fun being a drunken idiot on his own, Lana quickly followed his lead, being a responsible young good girl, afterall, what would her parents think? (Oh, burn!)

Chloe, however, considered the decision a LOT harder. What the other three didn't know is that on her three-month internship in an attempt to forget about Smallville, and Clark specifically, she had started visiting clubs and bars, having a fake ID given to her by her rebellious cousin, Lois, gaining a particular taste for Karaoke and dancing. (Of course, having been taught to dance by Lois, her dancing could hardly be considered anything below pg-13).

"C'mon, my treat." Her eyes lit up slightly, what the hell? As he had said, high school WAS supposed to be the best years of your life. She smirked at him as she replied, cutting across Pete's question; "Okay."

Both Pete and Lana turned to her, they're eyes widening further, Clark looked surprised for a split second, making her smirk widen, wondering if he was going to chicken out, then he grinned, an enticing show-of-the-teeth grin that caused her heart to beat even faster than usual. "Alright then, let's go."

He grinned even further as he stood, giving him a wolf-like appearance even as Lana stood up, making her way to the bar, he narrowed his eyes slightly as he gazed after her, as though concentrating, before his grin settled into a narrow-lipped smirk and then he spun towards Chloe, doing a faux-bow as he gestured towards the door, "Ladies first."

She raised her eyebrow, amused, before playing along, "Thank you, good sir." She giggled, performing a curtsy and then sashaying her way towards the door, his eyes narrowed as he looked at, as though concentrating on her back before he turned to Pete, "Did you know Chloe has a birthmark on her cheek?" Pete turned, confused towards Clark, "No she doesn't."

"Not that cheek."

Pete's eyes widened and he turned to respond only for Clark to wink at him from next to the door before leaving with Chloe. Right then and there Pete knew something was wrong with Clark, but before he could stop him from leaving he had already left the room. "Oh hell."

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><p>Chloe blinked as she gazed at the motorcycle in front of her, "Wow."<p>

Clark smirked as he handed her a helmet, turning to get on the bike, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "But what about you?"

"I don't need one." Her eyes widened in worry, "You ride without a helmet! Clark, that's dangerous!"

He sighed, realizing that she probably wouldn't let this go, before pulling out a spare from the other side of the bike, with invincibility he hadn't really been worried about the helmets being stolen.

"Alright then," She smirked back at him, "Where to?"

He grinned, "Why don't you decide?"

She put the helmet on and hopped on the back of the bike, "There's a cool club I once went to called The Red Tiger in Metropolis." She teased.

His eyebrows raised, slightly surprised, "Alright then, I was thinking more along the lines of a place in Smallville, but Metro it is." He grinned, putting the helmet over his head.

Her eyes widened, "Clark, I was just kidding."

He turned slightly, "I wasn't, we'll be there in an hour at max." He said. "Where is 'The Red Tiger'?"

"It's three blocks down from the Daily Planet, first you..."

* * *

><p>When they arrived Chloe quickly got off of the bike, her legs shaking, "Jesus Clark, I'm pretty sure you broke the Speed limit!"<p>

He grinned back at her, "I know, awesome right?"

She frowned slightly at how out of character he was acting, "Are you sure you're okay?"

He smiled in that Clark-like manner that only he could do and she looked into his eyes as he answered, "I'm fine, just decided to relax for tonight, you know, problem?" He narrowed his eyes at her at the question. She looked into his eyes and finally relaxed, guessing that he was just trying not to think to much. "No, no problem." She quickly smiled, guessing he was wondering if he was wrong in bringing her here, guilt was Clark's forte after all. "Shall we go inside?"

He openly leered at her and replied; "Aren't you a little overdressed?" While tilting his head at her coat, she reddened slightly at his obvious innuendo before unzipping her coat and taking it off, he stared down at her low-cut crop-top, "You should wear _less_ more often." He grinned as she reddened further, "C'mon, let's go inside." He wrapped his arm around her in a one-armed hug, practically dragging her towards the club, a smirk on his lips.

"Clark, what's your rush?" She asked as he hurriedly pulled her along, smirking all the while, "I'm just trying to get to the action quicker, Chlo, wanna have more fun afterall." He smirked yet again. 'Why the hell does he keep grinning and smirking like that?'

As they entered the doors he looked around at the flashing lights, the dancing people and all the women in the bar, "Nice choice, Chloe."

They both sat at the bar and Clark smirked as he ordered them both some VERY alcoholic drinks, slipping the bartender an extra twenty while he ordered.

"Drink up." He shot her a mocking grin before bringing his glass to his lips, downing his drink in one long draw, as though daring her to. She narrowed her eyes at him and put her glass to her lips, taking half the glass in one fell swoop... And then starting to gag and choke. "Holy Fu..."

He burst out laughing as she twisted her face into an expression of agony. She glared, "Ass." He snickered again.

She glanced at him, frowning as she saw him eye a shapely brunette that walked by, dragging his eye with her. "Why'd you bring me here with you if all you're going to do is look at other women?" She asked when she saw him eyeing yet ANOTHER Brunette.

He looked down at her out of the corner of his eye, "You're jealous?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, slightly red cheeks puffing out. He snickered at her as she stumbled slightly, "You're a lightweight!"

"Shut up!" She shouted back as he led her to the dance-floor, grinning.

"You're right, though, I guess, how about we dance?" He shouted over the music before grabbing her by the hand and pulling her onto the dance floor.

"Come on!" He shouted over the noise, starting to shake with the crowd. She looked over the crowd and nervously tried to mimic what he was doing.

He laughed out loud again as he watched her sway slightly on her feet. "Can't you dance?"

"Well... Kinda." She murmured nervously.

He leered down at her, "I... _Kinda_, don't believe you." He smirked.

She glared up at him. "I can too, Jerk!" She shouted back over the noise, her words slurring slightly now.

"Heh, prove it." He challenged. "Alright!"

And then she started using his body like a pole.

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><p>When Chloe woke up that morning it was with a pounding headache. "Ugh, dear god, what did I do last night?" She asked herself, pushing a large arm off of her body- 'Wait, what?'<p>

She looked over across from her- and froze.

There, lying with only a sheet rested across his lower body and an arm across her chest, rested Clark Kent in all his glory. Her wide eyes took in his body, and then hers. "Oh my god."

His eyes opened to take her in, "Hello nurse."

And indeed she was dressed like a nurse, partially at least, a nurses hat somehow stayed balanced precariously on her head and a ruffled white nurses outfit made of a clingy white outfit lay on the floor, alongside- Alongside a Fireman's outfit, a leather 'Police' woman's outfit, assumedly, along with various other bits and pieces ranging from a fedora to handcuffs, and those were only the mentionable things. "What the hell did we do last night!"

He grinned at her and replied; "Plenty, wanna do it again?"

She thanked her lucky stars that there were still two days to go until the test.

'Wait, bad Chloe, BAD!' "Clark, wait!" She quickly pushed herself out of the bed, pulling the covers with her, "We need tooooo..." She trailed off as she stared at a completely naked Clark, his muscles flexing powerfully and rippling with force as he stood up, her jaw clenched and she gulped, "Duh..."

He stepped around the bed and gently grabbed her shoulders, "_I _think _we_ need to get back in bed, Chloe, don't you?" Her mind vaguely registered the question but her thoughts were otherwise preoccupied so she just nodded dumbly, "Glad you agree." He smirked, and with that he lifted her off the ground and fell onto the bed gently placing her beneath him. "Round two." His smirk widened.

Chloe gulped again.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville or anything or anyone within Smallville.

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><p>When Chloe woke up that day she was warm and comfortable, she looked over at the alarm clock on her bedside table and shot up as the numbers 7:52 illuminated the room in a faint blue light, her curtains blocking out much of the light from the outside, then she paused; 'Wait a minute, I could've sworn that I went to the study session for the test, then Clark came and we went clubbing, then...' Her face quickly drained of blood as her legs fell from underneath her. 'We, we- Oh my god, we had sex, multiple times! Ohmygodohmygodohmygod, but then... How did I wake up in MY bed? Maybe it was all just a dream, yeah, a dream.' She slowly calmed down, smiling in triumph. 'A vivid, detailed dream, but just a dream.'<p>

And then she spotted the Nurse's cap. 'OHMYGOD!'

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><p>Jonathan Kent prided himself on being a very rational individual, and a very well-rounded, likable and helpful person, but above all Jonathan Kent was well known for remembering the things that mattered, birthdays, funerals, weddings, farmers' markets, reunions, meetings and business deals, purchases... Which is how he found himself completely befuddled as he listened to the woman on the other end of the line list off a large amount of items paid for by his Credit card, but DEFINITELY not by him.<p>

_"One hotel room, paid for by card around the western side of Metropolis, located in Sullivan's lane-" _His eye twitched at the name _"-One withdrawal of $250, multiple object purchases, including...-" _He turned to talk to his wife, when he heard it, music coming from the barn. _"-One Surround sound stereo system-" _"I'll call you back." He murmured down the phone, ignoring the woman's objections as he hung up, they both looked out the window, Martha, confused, asked Jonathan; "When did we get a satellite dish?" They both turned to look at each other.

They quickly walked towards the barn, pushing their way towards the staircase and dodging around hap-hazardously placed wires interspersed randomly about the room, they made their way up the stairs, trying to talk to Clark over the music, Jonathan grabbed the remote and tried to turn the music down, Clark grinned from his place on the floor setting up his Xbox as he got up, manually turning off the music.

Jonathan glared at him, trying to keep his admittedly short temper down, "What's all this _junk_ doing here?"

Clark grinned again, as though proud of himself, "I bought it all from the bargain store in Metropolis, _open all night!_"

Jonathan clenched his jaw to prevent himself from saying something he might regret, "Clark Kent you stole from us!"

Clark reeled back as though struck, "No!" Then he grinned again. "I used your credit cards, besides, it's not like we have to pay for it all at once."

Martha's eyes widened and her jaw dropped open, stunned at his extreme disrespect.

Jonathan mentally counted down from 10 in his head. _'10, 9, 8...'_ "I don't care how you got it or where you got it from, you're taking back now."

"Yeah, right." Clark smirked sardonically at him,quirking an eyebrow. "Right, and then you're going to give back every cent you took from us AND then we're going to have a nice, long talk about this new attitude you've developed."

He grinned even wider. "No, I'm not." Jonathan sputtered in outrage for a few seconds. _"Excuse me!"_

He glared at his father, "You heard me! You know what, dad, you can talk all you want, I'm outta here." And with that he vaulted out of the loft window, revving his motorcycle and putting his shades on he sped off down the road, dust trailing behind him.

Jonathan and Martha stared at the motorcycle, Jonathan's own pride and joy, that sped off into the distance, shocked. "Clark, CLARK COME BACK HERE."

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><p>Driving down the road, Clark smirked and slowed down as he saw the new girl stick out her thumb. He raised an eyebrow at the Middle-aged man in his grey ford driving alongside Jesse on the road and turned to her, "Ya need a ride?"<p>

She squinted at him and asked, surprised; "Clark?" Jesse quickly got on the back of the bike and they drove off, ignoring her father.

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><p>Driving down the pathway to the front gates, watching as people stumbled out of the way and watched him, stunned, Clark thought that he could get used to this feeling of superiority, of being above them.<p>

He smirked as he drove past Chloe, Lana and Pete, tilting his head to look over his shades and give a wink. Lana looked surprised at him, but Chloe knew better. 'Oh my god.'

He slowed to a stop in the parking lot, flipping his shades and slipping them into his jacket pocket.

Jesse smiled at him and purred; "Well, Clark, thanks for the ride."

"Anytime." He replied dispassionately, sounded bored.

She pouted at his obvious dismissal before putting the helmet on the back of the bike and heading into the school.

Lana walked over, arms crossed over her chest, flanked by Pete and Chloe. "So much for the shy and retiring Clark Kent." She said, bemused.

He turned to them, smirking, "I was just giving her a ride to school," He eyed her up and down, "Say the word and I'll save you the return trip."

She jolted slightly and furrowed her eyebrows, appalled at his straight-forwardness. The bell rang in the background, and she and Chloe turned to look at each other.

Chloe frowned slightly at him and he winked at her again as Lana turned back to him, "I'll catch up with you later."

They turned to leave and as Chloe and Lana turned away and Pete looked to the side for just a split second he used superspeed and goosed Chloe, she jumped slightly but kept walking, her teeth clenching her lip to keep from crying out. He licked his lips, staring at her ass as she walked. Looking through her layers of clothing and grinning to himself as he saw his hand-print on her ass cheek, directly above her birth mark.

Pete turned to him as they walked away, "Clark Kent, chick magnet. What's wrong with this picture?"

He smirked as he turned to eye the shorter boy, "People change, Pete." As he started walking to the school, however, the bright red Kent family pickup cut in front of him, Jonathan turning to look at him from inside the cab, "Clark! I'd like a word with you please."

He pulled his jacket tight and dismissed him, "Not right now, dad."

Jonathan grit his teeth, pushing the door open and getting out of the cab, _"Get in the truck son."_

"Give me one good reason why I should."

Jonathan lunged forwards, grabbing his shoulder. "Because I am your father and I just told you to get in the truck."

"You're not my father." Jonathan jolted backwards, hurt. "You never were." And with that he shoved his father, sending him flying backwards to dent the door of the truck. "Ah!"

He spared a brief glimpse back, looking worried for a split second before covering it with an arrogant smirk and walking into the school, ignoring the stares he received as he strode into the halls of Smallville high, not looking back.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville.

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><p>Clark swallowed nervously as he walked through the halls of Smallville high. Just eighteen hours ago his father and Pete had destroyed the class ring, removing it's influence over him, but not his memories of what he had done while influenced.<p>

He came to a stop outside of the Torch office, hand on the handle as he considered what to say to Chloe. Somehow he thought; "Sorry I got you drunk and slept with you." Just didn't seem like it would cut it.

"Clark...?" He turned around, watching as Chloe walked towards him and anxiously wrung her hands together. "Hey."

He gulped and smiled hesitantly. "hey, so... How are you?" He asked nervously, cursing himself on the inside. '"How are you?" Really?'

She smiled at him nervously, blushing as memories of that night passed through her head. She tilted her head to the side and twirled her a lock of her hair around her finger, quirking her lips in thought. "Fine." She replied, her eyes looking off to her side. "Listen... About a few nights ago..."

She paused and he tried to speak. "Chloe, I'm sorry about-" "It was nice but-" "the other night, I shouldn't have taken advantage of you-" "It didn't have to mean anything, it wasn't that-" "it was wrong and I wasn't myself, I was drugged-" "big a deal..." "and I'm really, really so- Wait, what?" He stared at her in wide-eyed shock, her words finally sinking in.

She shrugged and repeated herself as though unaware that he had been speaking. Truth be told she had been so focused on building up her courage that she had been unaware he was even speaking. "Yeah, it didn't have to mean anything." She blushed.

He stared at her in shock. "Chloe, wha- are you- I- uh-..." He stumbled on his words, finally choosing to stay silent and just gather his wits about him as he looked down at her.

She almost visibly wilted under his gaze, playing with the hem of her jacket. "Uh, it's just... We're both sixteen and it was just sex... Ya know?"

He finally licked his lips and nodded, his brow furrowing. "Right, I mean..." He swallowed again. "...It didn't have to mean anything." He smiled.

She beamed up at him. "Great!" She turned and walked into the Torch office. "See you later."

He turned as she shot the door, his smile turning into a light frown. 'It didn't have to mean anything...' He closed his eyes and sighed, running his hands through his hair.

He groaned as he pushed himself off the wall and started to walk back down the hall.

* * *

><p>"...Who do you think wrote it?" Clark walked a little faster as he rounded the corner, catching sight of Pete and Lana.<p>

"I have no idea." Lana replied, shaking her head in response to Pete's question.

Clark smiled, patting Pete on the shoulder, Pete looked back at him strangely and he awkwardly dropped his hand from his shoulder. He turned and paused briefly as he saw Chloe take a seat on the Torch's bright-red couch.  
><em><br>Cherry-red lips nipped at his collar-bone as they edged towards the bed, he grunted as they shifted, twisting their positions as he gripped her hips, running a hand down her left leg, feeling smooth skin, he carelessly smirked as he grabbed her around the waist, lifting her through the air with a casual grace to land on the edge of the bed with a yelp. She looked up at him with a pink blush across her cheeks, hazel eyes wide. He couldn't help but think she was adorable._

"So, what's going on?" He asked them, suppressing the urge to lick his lips. All of a sudden his throat was feeling dry.

Chloe's grin faltered for a split second, however she replied airily, blushing slightly and raising a finger to wrap her hair around, (Something that brought back memories, brought up thoughts he shouldn't be having.) "Lana has a secret admirer." Her pearly whites shone in the light that seeped through the curtains.  
><em><br>A grunt escaped him, a jolt like static ripping through him, he felt far too vulnerable in that moment, and she must have noticed as her lips curled into a near-predatory grin, teeth gleaming. But GOD if it wasn't hot. He moaned as she put her mouth back into action._

He sucked in a breathe of air, shuddering slightly. These thoughts, these... Memories had plagued him for the past week, ever since they had... He briefly shook his head, trying to shake clear the web in his mind. He looked up and couldn't help but draw back slightly at the looks he was receiving.

"You feeling okay, Clark?" Pete asked with a confused frown, beside him Lana looked worried.

"Yeah, I'm fine, what were you saying about a secret admirer?" He asked, pasting a smile onto his face.

A look of comprehension crossed Lana's face, evidently Clark was worried about her new 'Admirer' being the 'Freak of the week', to quote Chloe. She smiled at him, touched by his concern. "It's nothing."

Chloe turned to her and quirked an eyebrow in faux-curiosity. "What do you mean nothing? What happened to romantic?" She teased.

Lana pouted as she turned to look at Chloe with narrowed eyes. Pete sighed and reached over, grabbing a previously unnoticed piece of paper from Lana's hand while she was distracted. "Just let the boy read it."

Clark reached out and took the note, perusing it's contents. He blinked and drew back before looking up. "Huh, that's a little mushy." He murmured, as though deep in thought.

Lana raised her eyebrows, as though surprised. "I almost forgot, Clark Kent, the man of steel." She said softly yet in a clipped tone, as though reminding him.

An awkward silence settled over the group and Chloe and Pete glanced at each other out of the corner of their eyes and frowned slightly. Clark furrowed his brow at the two and Lana's lips pursed, as though agitated. "I'll see you guys around." She said curtly, standing and making her way out of the Torch office.

Pete murmured "bye." as she walked by, taking her seat on the couch. Clark waited until she was out of earshot before turning to Chloe and Pete. "If you ask me it sounds more like a stalker."

Pete raised an eyebrow, his lips quirked into a semi-grin. Chloe glanced up at him and then looked back down, going back to curling her hair.

The three sat companionably in silence before making their way to class.

In Biology Clark couldn't help but glance back at Chloe on occasion, and couldn't control the frown that seemed to grace his face. Why was it he could get over this with Chloe so easily when everything with Lana always became so complicated?

Without realizing it a small spark lit deep inside of him, within his very core, as the question subconsciously routed itself in his mind. 

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><p>A few days later found Clark and Lana in the Torch office, waiting for Chloe to finish printing out an official certificate. On Saturday the two had met Lana's 'Secret admirer', a poetic young man named Byron, and had been held at gunpoint by his father when they took him home in the early hours of the morning, the next day they had called the Sheriff and they and Clark's father had made their way to the house again, where the father had denied any knowledge of the events in question and of Byron's existence.<p>

Who better to talk about this stuff to than Chloe 'The Queen of weird'.

It was as the three made their way out of the school that Lana mentioned she had to go and manage the Talon, leaving Clark to walk Chloe home, leaving the two alone for the first time in weeks.

The two of them casually strolled down the street, bags flung over their shoulders, and an awkward silence settled over the two of them. "So..." Chloe started, uncomfortable.

"What do you think about this whole 'Byron' thing?" Clark finally asked, raising an eyebrow.

She mirrored his expression as she replied. "I'm not sure." He looked surprised. "I mean, I haven't met, or seen, Byron so I can't judge, but from the way you and Lana talk about him he sounds... Nice."

He smiled down at her. "He's not bad, he seems kinda cool, but his parents... I'm not sure what to think."

She turned to him. "What do you mean?"

He frowned. "It's just that I could swear he had marks like shackles on his wrists, like he'd been chained up, and the way he reacted to his parents AND the light... I'm pretty sure he was abused."

She turned away, worried. "How sure, like, 'stick a needle in my eye' sure or article sure?" He looked back again, bemused. "I mean, percentage wise?"

His frown deepened. "...98%"

"Hm." She pursed her lips and turned back to the sidewalk in time to stop just before her lawn. "I'll catch you later Clark." She grinned. "I've got some homework to do, call me when you and Lana need me." She swallowed at 'need me' and then walked towards the house.

He stared at her as she stepped up the path and without thinking his eyes slowly fell to follow her hips. _Hips that fit into his hands perfectly, wide yet beautiful, curves in all the right places._

He swallowed tightly and then turned to make his way back home. "Damn it." He cursed, rubbing his eyes. 

* * *

><p>Chloe smirked at Lana and Clark, "As much as I would like to come along, Pete's got me booked for the PlayStation 2." She snickered. "See you guys later."<p>

Chloe sighed as she walked out of the Talon. Despite her claims otherwise, she was bothered by how easily Clark had forgotten about _that night_.  
><em><br>'I suppose it's all just swept away in his "Lana-lust". _She thought bitterly, pursing her lips.

"Damn defensive mechanism." She murmured under her breathe. _'I can wait, it's... It's worth the wait.' _She sighed again, she seemed to be doing that a lot lately.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville.

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><p>Chloe lamented her recent lack of good fortune as she walked through the halls of Smallville high. Having stayed up all night plagued by thoughts of what had happened <em>precisely<em> two weeks ago she had nearly arrived late for School, just barely getting into the building as the bell rang; because of this she had been held behind for five minutes to '_discuss the merits of investing in a wrist-watch or a map if she couldn't find her way to his classroom in time._' The jerk.

She stepped into the Torch office and caught sight of Clark and Pete waiting and talking. 'Just what I need.'

She sighed as she sat down in HER desk chair, drawing the attention of both young men. "Hi."

Pete smirked at her from his seat and held up a hand, drawing her attention to the paper he held; The final draft of this weeks _Torch._ "I see Troy's death has officially joined the ranks of the weird and the unexplained." He drawled out, amused.

She raised an eyebrow at his nonchalant display of barely disguised curiosity. "Yeah, big time. The official report said he died of an _acute onset_of the rapid aging disease _Progeria._"

"I thought that aged you over the space of Ten years, not Ten seconds." Clark chimed in from his seat.

She nodded, leafing through a folder of information on her desk. "Exactly. The coroner's running a test to see if Troy HAD Progeria or if it was just...-"

"-...Something unexplained and bizarre." Pete cut across, finishing her sentence. She felt an eyebrow twitch in irritation at that, but persevered.

"Well, good luck investigating, you'll probably need a hall-pass from our _new principal._" Clark intoned, voice thick with light yet barely veiled contempt.

She leaned across the desk, unknowingly emphasizing her cleavage. "Clark, a lot of of schools have a closed campus policy." She tilted her head, curious as to why he seemed so upset at their new principal.

Pete joined in from where he stood, sorting some of the work left out on the desk. "Yeah, why are you so worked up?"

Clark shifted slightly, clearly disgruntled, before elaborating. "I had a run-in with him this morning, and he busted me for being late." He leaned back in his seat, as though fully justified.

Chloe and Pete both looked at him, eyes alight. "Well, well." Chloe purred, smirking. "Clark Kent's on the Principals 'bad boy' list, naughty, naughty." She waggled her finger in mock-disapproval.

He shivered slightly, memory casting back to just two weeks ago, when she had last taken that tone. Thankfully Pete intervened before he could think on _that_ for too long. "I gotta agree with the girl, Clark, she took the words right outta my mouth." He chuckled.

He pouted, clearly annoyed. "The guy's a real hard-case."

Chloe laughed. "_Riiiiiiight,_ first it's a lock-down, next thing you know he'll be burning books in the student parking lot." She 'consoled', walking around the desk and patting him on the shoulder before looking down to pull out another file on Troy's death.

Clark faltered, but quickly recovered and countered. "Well, laugh now, but wait until he comes after the Torch."

"Nuh-uh." She trailed on as soon as he finished his sentence, clearly expecting his response. "See, I've been doing some digging on our Principal Reynolds to find out what his views were on the fourth estate." She handed him the file, revealing that it was actually a file on Reynolds previous qualifications, methods and views.

He pursed his lips, caught between a smile and a frown at her presumptuousness, before reaching out to leaf through the file. "Harvard B.A, P.H.D in Colombian education... A lot of exclusive Prep schools all over Europe and East coast... That's a pretty impressive résumé." He nodded at Pete, as though HE had done all the work, and Chloe felt another twinge of irrational irritation.

"Yeah, it is, and his name was even being mentioned as the new head of the Metropolis board of education, until one day he's summarily dismissed from his position at Excelsior prep, and he doesn't work again until he resurfaces here." She presented with a straight face, trying not to smack him for how he kept looking at Pete, as though PETE had done all the work, or PETE'S judgement was better than hers.

"How does a guy on the fast track suddenly end up in Smallville?" Clark pondered, glancing between her and Pete, as though they held all the answers.

Pete sighed. "I don't know, but I don't think the guy's wall-of-weird material."

"Yeah, just because the guy doesn't immediately _love_ you like every other teacher in this school doesn't mean that he's hiding some _dark__past._" Chloe finished with a patronizing grin.

He pouted even further, gazing at the yellow-and-black floor tiles. "Listen, I'm gonna go to the Talon and see if Lana wants some help, wanna come along?"

Both shook their heads in the negative. "Oh!" Pete stood up from his seat again. "I'll walk halfway though, my Mom wants me to clean out the Garage."

Chloe grimaced. "You have my sympathies."

Pete chuckled at the remark. "thanks, I'll see you tomorrow."

She waved them both off. "Just go, before I hold you back and make you clean up the office." She smirked, as though daring them to call her bluff and this time both boys chuckled, leaving with a synchronized; "See ya." "Bye."

She waited until both boys had left the office before burying her head in her hands. 'God, what a pain.'

* * *

><p>The next day found Chloe sitting in her office, preparing for an interview with Principal Reynolds.<p>

"Hey Chloe." She started, turning and finding Clark at the door.

"Hey Clark." She smiled, about to turn back to the Torch computer. "Oh, Clark, you might wanna disappear for the next hour or so."

He paused in place, pushing folders into the filing cabinet. "And why's that?" He asked her calmly.

Her smile faltered slightly as he turned back to her, realizing that this was the first time they had been alone in a while. "I'm about to interview Principal Reynolds." She quickly pasted her smile back on, though the brightness looked a lot more artificial now.

He shifted slightly. "...Thanks for the heads-up." He grinned back at her, eyes quickly shifting back to the cabinet. He turned back at the sound of her typing. "Hey, what have you got there?" He asked her curiously, walking up behind her and leaning over her shoulder.

She edged to the left a little bit as his warm breathe hit her ear. "Do you remember my buddy Chad that works at the M.E's office?"

He smirked. "Yeah, the guy with the black fingernail polish and lipstick."

She chuckled slightly under her breathe. "Aw, it's hard being Smallville's only Goth." She replied, mock sympathy coating her voice. "Anyway, he sent me the autopsy report of Troy." She paused, contemplating. "It's amazing what lending someone your eyeliner will get you these days." They both grinned and turned back to the screen.

Clark paused as he finished reading the conclusion. "...So Troy didn't have Progeria." He murmured, confused.

Chloe shook her head. "No, but his Pituitary Gland, which by the way produces the hormone that controls the aging process, was completely drained." She paused slightly, unaware of the Principal standing at the door, only just noticing how close they both were. Their eyes met and Chloe swallowed what was on the end of her tongue.

Clark gazed back into her eyes, his breathing slightly shallow. _'She really does have beautiful eyes.'_ Almost of their own accord their heads slowly inched forwards.

"Mr. Kent, Ms. Sullivan!" They both jerked backwards, blushing as they turned to the door, noticing the Principal.

She stuttered, blushing. "Principal Reynolds, I-I was just running through a few scenarios, theories and what not. And I-"

He frowned at the two of them. "Be that as it may, I would like to remind the both of you that personal relationships are prohibited during learning hours." Her face heated even further. "I will let you both off with a warning for now, I can see from your previous works that this is not common of you." She tilted her head in confusion. "I've been reading some back issues of the Torch, I see a lot of creativity AND insight there." He stepped around them, examining the office.

She blinked, stunned. "You're kidding."

"Well, unverified insight." He clarified. "But many a Pulitzer has sprung from WILD theories." He straightened out a piece hanging from the wall-of-weird. "Just make sure you can back them up, and that'll be the difference between writing Trash for the inquisitor and reporting for the daily Planet." He nodded.

She smiled, wide-eyed, "Wow." She turned to look at Clark, who blushed and averted his eyes. She quickly remembered what had been about to happen and blushed, turning back to the Principal. "Are you still up for that interview?"

"Well, give me half an hour." He looked up at Clark, who grimaced and quietly turned around, heading for the door. "!" He stopped and seemed to droop. "I was actually looking for you." He turned and pasted a smile onto his faced. "I'd like to see you in my office."

Clark silently slouched and made to follow the principal. Chloe grinned at him behind his back and waved mockingly, he turned, catching her in the act and pouted. Principal Reynolds didn't hear the laughter that followed them into the hall. 

* * *

><p>Another day went by and found Chloe searching for Clark and Pete, she found the both of them walking through the halls of Metropolis high and quickly scurried to keep up with them. "Hey!" The two boys turned to look at her. "Did you hear about what happened to Russell? They found his body behind the Talon."<p>

The two stopped walking, stunned. "I just saw him yesterday, what happened?" Clark questioned.

She sighed. "He aged like a hundred years, the Police thought it was some old homeless guy until they found Russell's licence in his wallet."

Clark frowned in bewilderment. "Two Progeria deaths in two days, what are the odds on that?"

Chloe quirked her lips at the question. "I don't know, Lana wanted to cancel the Spirit week party but Principal Reynolds asked her not to." She folded her arms over her books. "He said he wanted to keep things as _normal_ as possible.

Pete shook his head. "He obviously hasn't had his normal meter reset for Smallville."

Chloe chuckled humorlessly. "Yeah."

Clark started to nod but stopped, his eye focused on something behind Chloe's shoulder.

She turned and saw that he was staring at Chrissy Parker. "What is it Clark?"

He turned back to her. "I saw Russell with Chrissy at the Talon, and Troy was with her just before he went geriatric." He tilted his head, thinking.

She stared at him, slightly bemused. "It's not exactly a smoking gun."

"It's worth a look." He pondered. "Maybe we can check out her old school records, see if there's anything strange in the background."

Chloe turned to him as the bell rang. "Okay, I'll get started and I'll tell you what I find."

Clark nodded, averting his eyes as she walked past, accidentally brushing against his arm.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville.

* * *

><p>Chloe sat in the Torch office, pondering on her life. This time yesterday she had been helping Lana move in with her when she had seen Clark helping with the heavy-lifting and had cut and run, making an excuse about work at the Torch.<p>

In truth, any and all work at the Torch had already been done earlier in the week in a desperate attempt to distract herself. She had entered the office with a heap of books and articles when a young Sophomore, Ian Randall, had made his way into the office, citing that he was looking for a book that she had checked out of the library.

He was smart, amazingly so, and hard-working too, and cute, in an average sort of way, but despite that she just couldn't bring herself to think of him in any way other than platonic. Ever since that drunken one-night stand with Clark she had been unable to bring herself to think of anyone in that way, nonetheless she had gone to the Talon with him and done the interview. In truth he had seemed caught off guard at her straight forward attitude and she mentally noted that it seemed as though he had expected her to fall about his feet swooning; it was well hidden, but he was clearly arrogant.

She was startled out of her thoughts by a soft knock on the door, she turned and saw Clark standing by the door, as though hesitant to enter.

"Chloe." He greeted her nervously.

"Yeah." She replied, quickly returning her attention to the "Article" in front of her. Despite the large number of weeks that had passed since their "Encounter" she still couldn't help but be nervous when she was alone around him.

He looked strangely stoic as he walked over to her, wringing his coat in his hands. "You got a second?" He asked, eyes staring at her beseechingly, as though desperately wanting... Something.

She looked up. "Sure."

He stepped forwards and looked over her article. "Primed to graduate two years early, Ian Randall is a true academic Superstar." He read aloud, he glanced up at her as she walked past. "Well, so much for Journalistic detachment..."

She casually grabbed a folder and opened it on her desk. "Believe it or not, not every story has to be wall-of-weird material." She looked up and shook her head. "Why am I defending myself?"

Clark looked to the side, out the door to ensure that nobody was listening in. "Do you like him?" He blurted.

She resisted the urge to purse her lips and pasted a smile onto her face. "I don't NOT like him." She evaded. "What is this about, Clark?" She tried to sound amused as she asked, hoping the apprehension in her voice wasn't too obvious.

He tried to sound casual, but she could tell there was something wrong. "Nothing, I just want you to be careful." He murmured.

She was confused for a moment, why would he say something like that? She decided to ask as much. "Why?"

He looked up at her and sighed. "Look, I probably shouldn't say anything, but I saw him and Lana in the hallway and they seemed pretty... close."

She gawped at him, suddenly annoyed beyond belief. He had seen the two of them at the Talon. What, was he trying to make her paranoid, suspicious? 'Cause if so it was working. "Oh, I see, you just wanted to make sure that poor little Chloe doesn't get burned." She replied. "Again."

He looked down, something that almost admitted that that was EXACTLY what he was thinking. "No." He started, looking up. "Chloe...-"

She cut across him. "You know what, Clark? Not that it really matters, but Ian already told me that Lana was kinda into him." Another point for the boy's arrogance. "But he'd rather be with me." She had felt bad when she was unable to reply to that, and to his credit Ian had looked dejected, though whether that was because he was upset by her rejection or BEING rejected, she was unsure. "He-He asked me to keep it a secret because he doesn't want to hurt her feelings."

"And you believe that?" He asked her, skeptically.

A flare of outrage ignited inside of her. She frowned and swallowed down her bitterness. "You really can't imagine that someone would choose me over Lana, can you Clark?" She asked rhetorically, pushing past him to storm out of the office.

He was stunned for a brief moment, and then tried to stop her. "Chloe, wai-" But she was already gone, slamming the door behind her. 

* * *

><p>When Chloe left school that day she was angry and bitter at Clark; however some small part of her, the part that was ignited during her drunken night of passion, realized that deep down he obviously held some sort of feelings for her, and also for Lana; and the fact that he had come up with something like this... Well, either he was jealous of her and Ian... Or he was jealous of LANA and Ian. As a reporter it was her job, Future -She corrected, job to know all the facts.<p>

She briefly spotted Lana walking down the stairs and quickly hustled over to her before she could get in the car, Nel's old jeep Liberty. "Lana!"

Lana turned, spotting Chloe and stopped, smiling. "Hi, Chloe."

She brushed her hair back out of her eyes with one hand, a nervous habit that she had gained shortly after "dating" Sean Calvin. "Listen... Have you talked to Ian lately?"

Lana stopped walking and froze. "Um, yeah, why?"

She looked nervous; something that, given the current circumstances, made her throat constrict. "did he tell you that..." If she was wrong this might hurt Lana's feelings. But if she was right... She took the plunge. "Did he tell you that he had feelings for you?"

Lana looked torn at that moment, as if unsure whether to tell her or not. "Chloe..."

"Just give it to me straight Lana, did he. Or did he not. Tell you he had feelings for you?" She asked bluntly, looking the slightly shorter girl straight in the eye.

Lana gulped. "Yes..."

Chloe grimaced, her brow furrowing. "That son of a *****..." She hissed. And to think, she had defended him over Clark.

Lana looked down, gathering her courage, and then looked back up at her. "Chloe, listen... It's not Ian's fault. It's...-"

Chloe cut across her, shaking her head, agitated. "No, Lana. He told me that he had feelings for ME as well."

Lana jerked back, looking stricken. "Wh-What?" She whispered.

Chloe pursed her lips. "Clark came to me earlier and told me that Ian was in the hall earlier. I told Ian that I didn't have any feelings for him, but before that he told me that he'd rather be with me than you. I'm guessing that he told you the same thing in reverse." She assumed.

Lana nodded, looking horrified. "Oh my god..." She brought her hand up to her mouth.

She clenched her teeth. "I know." 

* * *

><p>The next day found Chloe stalking through the hallways of Smallville high after hours, distressed at how easily she had fallen for yet ANOTHER boy's plots, it seemed as soon as someone showed a modicum of interest in her she was on her knees with her lips on their... "Figuratively." She murmured aloud. Ever since- <em>THAT <em>-night she always seemed to use much more... Naughty imagery than usual. She couldn't help but muse that maybe if she weren't so easy to seduce it might have taken LONGER to figure Ian out. She slammed the Torch door behind her as she opened the door.

'Now THAT was an unpleasant thought.' She mused. 'If it weren't for Clark I may have been snuggling up to and even KISSING that arrogant, smarmy, deceitful, smug womanizing bastard.' She resolved herself to apologize to Clark ASAP for being so rash and not believing him.

Lana was in the office herself, waiting. "Are you ready?" Chloe asked her, concerned for her friend's emotional state.

She nodded resolutely. "As ready as I'll ever be." The two girls had decided to confront Ian, both calling him individually asking him to meet them in the office.

"Chloe!" A slightly nasally voice called out. She turned around. _'Speak of the devil.__'_

"Ian." She greeted flatly.

He seemed to notice something was amiss. "Is something wrong?" He asked her, voice filled with faux-sympathy.

Lana piped up from next to her. "We know, Ian."

He hardly looked surprised. In fact, he looked... Smug. "Well, can you blame me?" He asked them with amusement.

The two looked honestly surprised. "I really enjoyed being with the two smartest, prettiest girls in school... Together you're almost my equal." He finished condescendingly.

Chloe shook with silent rage while Lana scoffed next to her. "I don't believe this." Lana said, bewildered and hurt. "Clark tried to warn us about you." She added, as though to verify that Ian was, indeed, a bad person.

Ian's eye twitched. "Kent." He gazed at the two of them coldly. "Is that why you paged me at the same time?"

Chloe was momentarily confused. The two of them HAD paged him, but at separate times, asking him to meet them separately so as to belay his suspicion of them. "What are you talking about? The same time... I never..." She trailed off, glancing back at Lana, who shook her head.

He glared and then turned, stepping towards the door, pulling it closed and locking it. "Ian, what are you doing?" She asked, slightly nervously.

He smirked coldly. "Securing my future." He stepped forward. "Your futures on the other hand... Don't look so bright." And with that he stalked towards them... OR he would have.

In another time, another world, both girls would have been horrified and sad that he was cheating on them and would have been too distraught to put up a good fight, their emotions in turmoil and not expecting his presence. In this one however, both girls had known that he was coming; And Chloe hadn't even touched him, still stuck in a rut over Clark.

So when Ian Randall, whom despite his rather nifty ability to clone himself DIDN'T have super strength, or very many Physical advantages (Hell, he was barely taller than them), stepped towards the girls. Lana stepped back, horrified that someone whom had previously shown affection and mutual feelings of attraction would be willing to attack her.

Chloe, however, didn't think of "Mutual attraction" or "Affection" or even "Friendship". No, she remembered his smug words, she remembered DEFENDING him from Clark, she remembered that he would DARE make advances towards her while he was "Dating" her best friend, she remembered the little bits that she DID know about him... Almost all of which was bad.

In another world both girls would be hurt and distraught over his betrayal and run, fearful of him. In this world however Chloe didn't feel fear, or distraught. No, she felt... _Burning, white-hot betrayal and the Deep, Red curtain of Rage_.

She wasn't quite aware what happened in that moment, so red was the haze that descended over her. All she knew was that one moment she felt angry, and the next she seemed to blink and when she opened her eyes things were different.

One moment he was stalking towards the two girls, both bare-handed. And the next she was holding- She looked down -A dented metal tray, usually used to hold all of her folders when she needed to take them out of the School; 'though it wasn't usually dented...' She mused. She lazily swept her eyes across to the floor, where the boy lay, face-down and blood oozing out of his cracked skull. 'Maybe that explains it.'

A snarl was heard behind her and a hand grabbed her shoulder. She spun, automatically swinging the hand holding the dented metal tray up at the clearly enraged... 'Ian?' She wondered, even as the tray slammed into his chin, the jagged edge tearing its way across his jaw, into the skin of his cheek and ripping into his forehead, a spray of blood leaving the massive wound as the boy fell, unconscious, to the floor, coating her in the red fluid.

She stared bemusedly at the now-red metal tray and back down at the two boys. "Huh..." She murmured. Who had the last laugh now?

"Oh god." She vaguely heard from behind her, as Lana wretched onto the floor behind her. 'What's she so upset about? She's not the one who just... Killed a man.'

She vaguely heard herself repeat the same thing as Lana, but her attention was mostly arrested on the Black-and-yellow floor rushing up to meet her. Were floors supposed to do that?

*THUD*


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville.

* * *

><p>Chloe dazedly sat up trying to move, only to jolt as she felt a sharp pain spread up her side. "OW!" She cried, twisting slightly so that she could stay see her side. She frowned as she noticed the blood stains on her jacket. <em>'When did I put on my jacket?'<em>

"Chloe hold still, everything's going to be fine!" She turned and noticed Lana for the first time, pressing a towel to her lower back.

"What happened?" She murmured, looking at Lana through bleary eyes.

The other girl drew back slightly, hesitating. "When you fell you hit the desk pretty hard, you cut yourself as you fell, around your ribs." Chloe frowned. "It looks pretty shallow, though!" Lana hastened to add, hoping to comfort the other girl.

Chloe shot up, ignoring the pain that flared as a result. She remembered. "Oh my god, I killed Ian!"

"No, no!" The young Brunette quickly reassured her. "He's just unconscious."

She breathed a sigh of relief. "Really?" She queried, relieved.

Lana smiled at her. "Yeah, and I've got to say, that was some back-swing." She teased nervously.

Chloe tried to smile at the girl, but ultimately ended up collapsing on the floor. "Why does my right side hurt so much?" She asked the other girl, grimacing.

Lana flinched. "It's shallow, but it's still pretty... Bad."

She slowly edged the jacket away from the wound and gasped when the full wound was revealed. "Jeez..."

The cut was about four inches long and two inches wide, but in terms of depth... "You call THIS shallow!" She murmured, horrified. "I think... I think I can see the bone."

Lana raised an eyebrow and tried to stifle a chuckle. "Don't you think you're over-reacting?" She asked, amused.

Chloe paused, considered and then replied. "Okay... Maybe a little." She said sheepishly. "But it IS pretty bad."

This was the scene Clark walked in on. "Lana! Chloe!" He called, dashing through the door and nearly knocking it off its hinges.

He stopped short at the sight of Lana; her arms covered in blood and Chloe; lying on the floor wincing as she tried to cover the gash in her side. He briefly paused at the two Ian's, lying in puddles of their own blood, before dashing over to the two girls. "Oh my god, are you okay!" He gripped the jacket and pressed it back to her side.

Lana smiled at him. "I'm fine, Clark. Chloe managed to stop Ian, but she collapsed." She explained, doe-eyes sparkling up at him to full effect.

Chloe stared at them both, eyes drooping in exasperation as she watched the two of them retreat into their own little world. "Hello! Injured person here, yeah?"

It was Lana that reacted first. "OH! Chloe, I'm so sorry! We should really get that injury checked out!"

Although to his credit Clark acted the strongest. "Chloe! How bad is it, let me see!"

Ignoring her protestations he knelt down beside her and peeled back the jacket to inspect the wound. "We need to get you to a hospital." He proclaimed, grabbing her back and legs and lifting her up in the bridal position.

"Wha-?" She shouted, alarmed as he hefted her up into the air with little-to-no effort. "Clark! I'm sure I can walk, let me down. Damn it, Clark!" She shouted, pounding his chest in a futile effort to get him to release her.

"Lana, will you be alright here?" He questioned, ignoring Chloe as the turned to the petite brunette.

She nodded, amused at Chloe's plight in spite of herself, even as she squashed down the brief flair of jealousy that awakened in her gut. "I'll be fine, the Police are on their way now." She smiled.

He nodded and ran out the door, the protestations of the girl held to his chest not even registering.

* * *

><p>'Clark is fast.' Chloe mused. Smallville medical center was nearly a twenty minute walk and yet Clark had kept up a constant jog even WITH her in his arms and they had gotten there in just over five.<p>

"Ms. Sullivan?" She turned, noticing the balding elderly gentleman in a crisp white coat, a stethoscope hanging around his neck and the few hairs he had left brushed into a comb-over; He seemed to be a walking paradigm of the average upper middle-aged doctor.

She nodded, sitting up in the bed. "Yes?"

His lip, previously stoic, twitched as though he were fighting down a smile. "You're free to go, and please inform the... eccentric young man that such grazes are not fatal and that the next time he comes in _not_to panic every member of staff with behaviour pointing to such an extent."

She blushed, stifling a chuckle. "I'm sorry if we caused an uproar Dr...?"

"Johnson." Oh dear god, and the walking punchlines just kept coming.

"Dr. Johnson." She nodded in acknowledgement. "I'll try to avoid such injuries in the future."

"Very good, and the Police also have some questions, if you are willing to see them now?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow.

She gulped. "Of course."

* * *

><p>"Hey Clark."<p>

The boy shifted, pressing off the red upholstery and stepping towards her. "Chloe, are you okay?"

She nodded, smiling. "Fine, though I have to say you MAJORLY overreacted." She grinned. "It wasn't that bad, Clark."

"Are you sure? That was a _lot _of blood." He questioned.

She raised an eyebrow. "It _wasn't _that bad."

His brow furrowed, as though he were in deep thought. "Yeah..."

She sighed. "What?"

"It's just... I thought it was a lot more serious than it was, because there was just so much blood." He frowned. "You don't have hemophilia do you?"

Her eyes widened. "NO! God no! Why the hell would you think that?" She asked him, shocked.

He smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry, but... It's nothing, don't worry."

"Okay..." She replied dubiously. "Are YOU alright Clark?" She questioned concernedly.

He smiled reassuringly. "I'm fine, so I heard the Police were looking for you?"

She sighed. "With all the damage to the office, the Police think the self-defense was 'excessive', and with Ian's wounds..."

"Chloe, what's wrong?" Clark swallowed. "You're not going to be prosecuted are you?"

She shook her head quickly. "No, no! But... I'm going to have to take anger management." She grimaced. "Court ordered, due to possible 'trauma'. I tried to talk my way out of it, maybe see if I could just have a few one-on-ones with a shrink, get it out of the way and move on." She slouched in on herself. "This is going to look like hell on my record."

Clark grinned. "At least Lex will have some company." They both chuckled.

Chloe's lips quirked into a smirk. "I forgot about Lex's Tiger Woods moment... Shame it wasn't ON the Golf course."

He shook his head in exasperation. "You're going to render his anger management completely ineffective, aren't you?" He asked bemusedly.

"Nooooo... Well, maybe." She laughed. "Anyway, I've got to start on the next Torch, thankfully I've got a witness to the incident."

Clark blinked. "Who?"

She stilled, looking at him in disbelief. "...Me."

"Ah-..." He blushed.

* * *

><p>Lana quickly walked away from the Torch office. "She really doesn't know." She murmured to herself.<p>

She briefly wondered if she should tell Chloe, but dismissed it. Every other Meteor fre-... infected who knew about their powers had gone psycho in the end, but for now she would give her the benefit of the doubt.

After all, she was _Chloe_.

...

...  
>...There really was too much blood for a wound that small, even with the addition of Ian's. But at least her power didn't seem dangerous...<p>

...Nonetheless, she was definitely getting a lock on her door, just to be safe.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville.

**Chapter seven:**

* * *

><p>Chloe sighed as she got out of bed, getting ready for school. It had been nearly a week since the "Ian" incident and she found herself getting steadily more frustrated as the days wore on due to the changed behaviour of her friends.<p>

Ever since getting out of the hospital Clark had been a lot more protective of her than usual and Lana seemed to be slightly distant from her. Thankfully Pete was acting pretty much normal, though he did keep cracking jokes at her expense; Some of which had caught on with the rest of the student body. Though she was irritated that the jocks of the school had occasionally taken to mockingly crowning her with one of his earlier nick-names; "Little blonde Hellcat", a crack at both her height and her attitude.

She casually pulled her coat open, slipping her arms through the sleeves and shrugging into it as she walked down the stairs.

Thankfully Clark was preoccupied as of late with a girl he had recently met by the name of Kyla, a young Kawatche whom seemed to be helping him gain an interest in Archaeology. She purposefully ignored the twinge of jealousy that sparked up at the thoughts of the two, together and alone down in the caves together.

Chloe casually reached out and twisted the latch, pulling the front door open.

She herself had recently interviewed the girl's Grandfather, a hard-headed man by the name of Joseph Willowbrook with a deep-seated distrust of anything not related to the caves, something which fortunately, for him, didn't seem to include Clark.

"Chloe." Speak of the devil.

She pasted a smile onto her face, turning to regard the boy standing next to her porch, looking startled. "Clark, how long have you been standing there?" She queried cautiously.

The farmboy smiled back at her obliviously. "I just got here, was just about to knock, actually." A look of concern etched itself onto her face. Here we go... "How are you?" He asked.

Her lips tugged down into a grimace. He did this everytime they met, even when he seemed upset at her; Just yesterday they had been arguing about whether or not Chief Willowbrook was a Skinwalker and he had stormed out on her, yet now here he was, happy as ever.

She shook her head in exasperation. "What's wrong?" She asked him airily, taking a sip of her coffee.

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

She stared at him exasperatedly. "Come on, Clark. Why are you at my house at eight in the morning?"

He shrugged. "Just... wanted to see if you needed a lift to school? I mean I was driving past anyway." He iterated quickly.

Chloe raised an eyebrow in obvious disbelief. "Right, of course you were. This has nothing at all to do with you being worried over my 'fragile' mental state and supposed violent tendencies." She spoke dryly, eyes hooded.

He grimaced. "...Am I that obvious?" He asked her sheepishly.

She smirked up at the tall boy, staring into his deep blue eyes with her own amused green. "Yes." She answered simply, lips quirking into a grin at the look on his face. "Besides which, if you give me a lift to school, then you'll have to drive me home. Are you willing to accept that responsibility, 'farm boy'?" She quipped.

He grinned, accepting the olive-branch for what it was and quickly shoving the true reason for his visit to the side. "I'm pretty sure I can handle it, 'Ms. Sullivan'." He jokingly replied.

She chuckled as she leaned back inside, grabbing her bag and casually sauntering over to his truck. "Alright, then. On your head be it." She sighed, shaking her head mockingly and making him grin.

* * *

><p>"So, you've got a session tomorrow, right?" Clark inquired, eyeing her out of the corner of his eye as he drove toward Smallville high.<p>

Chloe's hands clenched anxiously in her lap. "Yeah, but I wish you wouldn't make me sound like a mental patient." She muttered.

Clark flushed, looking straight. "...Sorry." He grimaced. "I didn't mean-"

"I know." She cut across, sighing. "It's just that ever since I went nuts on Ian people keep giving me these looks, like I'm suddenly going to lose it or something; It's annoying to say the least."

"I can understand that." He spoke softly. "The looks people give you when they think you're not looking, like you're from a different planet."

"Exactly." She groaned, throwing her hands up. "When did you get so articulate, anyway?" She asked him shrewdly.

He shrugged bashfully. "When you weren't looking." He snickered. "We're nearly at school." He quickly cut across anything she was about to say.

She smiled back at him. "Thanks for the ride Clark. Could you let me out here, I've gotta run."

"Sure." He grinned. "I'll just stop... Here." He slowed to the curb, allowing her to get out.

"Thanks." She grinned, leaning in and kissing him on the cheek. "see ya." She waved off, walking around the corner, oblivious to his wide-eyed stare after her.

He slowly blinked. "That... What?" He murmured, pressing a hand to his cheek.

It wasn't until she was on the second floor on the way to English Lit. that what she had done finally registered with her. 'Oh hell.'

* * *

><p>"Hello Clark."<p>

Clark turned from where he was playing with the frayed end of the mat on his couch. "Kyla, hey."

Kyla stopped before him, tiling her head in confusion. "Are you alright?" She questioned, sounding worried. "You look... troubled."

_'Could she want more, but what about staying friends? Maybe it was just... friendly... like a good-luck kiss. Am I thinking too much? But what if...'_ "Yeah, Kyla... What do you know about Skinwalker's?"

"Why do you want to know?" She queried, raising an eyebrow.

"I think... Your Grandfather might be a skin walker and attacking people involved with the Luthor's." He grimaced. _'Nice Kent, why the hell would you say it like that, why not something easy like "Just curious?" or "Research I'm doing?" Jeez...'_

She gawked at him, most probably thinking along the same lines as him. "What? Why would you think that? How could you think that?"

"I just... Look, Kyla, it's just something I heard the other day... and your grandfather-"

"My GRANDFATHER was right." She cut across. "Lionel Luthor controls you all." She strained, hurt.

Clark stared after her as she left, dazed. _'What the hell just happened?'_


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville.

* * *

><p><em>"Clark?" Chloe stepped into the loft, immediately spotting her best friend hunched over on the couch. "Clark, you okay?" She queried concernedly, stepping towards him and putting a hand on his shoulder.<em>

_The dark-haired youth abruptly shot up, startled. "Wha- Chloe?" He yelped, stepping back. "You surprised me." He spoke at her bemused look._

_"Hm." She acknowledged, jokingly sniffing under her arm. "Well, at least I know it isn't the smell." She quipped._

_Clark blushed, looking across at her on the other side of the couch. "Sorry, I was thinking and I must have dozed off." He explained, frowning. "I got into an argument with Kyla."_

_"Oh!" She gasped, sitting down on the dark-red sofa and patting a spot next to her. "I'm sorry, what happened?"_

_He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I asked her if there was any possibility that her grandfather might be a Skin-walker." He confessed after a brief moments pause._

_"Ah." She spoke after a few seconds, rubbing her neck. "And this... Is because of what I said earlier?" She asked hesitantly, looking up at him._

_Clark shook his head, grimacing. "No, it's not your fault. I got thinking about things, and as much as I hate to admit it; it made sense."_

_She guiltily squashed the thrill that went through her at his words, admitting she was right. Now was not the time to be gloating. "I'm sorry, Clark. Maybe if I'd just kept my mouth shut..." She looked away regretfully._

_Clark pasted a smile onto his face, shaking his head. "If you hadn't spoke then I might not have thought it over and realized you were right, now maybe we can prevent anyone else being injured."_

_Chloe smiled awkwardly. "Yeah..."_

_"Anyway," The plaid-clad boy started, tilting his head. "Why are you here? Did you find something out?" He queried, raising an eyebrow._

_"I just came by to talk to you." She shrugged. "I was hoping you'd perhaps found out something else about the supposed "Wolf sightings". She confessed when he just stared at her._

_He smirked at the petite blonde. "I thought it might be something along those lines." He snickered at her abashed look._

_The blonde shrugged, raising an eyebrow at the farmboy clad in red and blue. "You know me too well. So, was there anything you found...?" She inquired._

_Clark huffed, dragging his knees up to his chest and resting his arms on them. "Not really, but I did find something that... Implicates Chief Willowbrook. It's just some fur, but..." He trailed off._

_""Just some fur"? Clark, that's pretty much all you need, Let's get it tested!" She exclaimed ecstatically, eyes bright. "Where is it?"_

_"The fur's in my room; I've got it stored in a drawer, but Chloe, I just... I'm not sure." He confessed._

_The blonde looked confused for a brief moment, but quickly comprehended the dark-haired farm boys problem. "You're worried about what you'll find." She realized, looking at him sympathetically. "Oh Clark."_

_"It's just, the cave drawings have so much history, and he may be the only one that can explain it; and if he goes away then they will be demolished to make way for the new complex, and we'll lose so much history!" He growled in distress._

_Chloe furrowed her brow at his tone, musing that it sounded much more personal than that, but nonetheless focusing on advising him on their course f action. "Look, I get that it's difficult, but you need to find out before he, or it, strikes again. This goes a lot deeper than just history, Clark. Someone has already died, and other people may follow." She warned. "If it is him then we need to stop him, if not then we need to find out who."_

_Clark frowned forlornly. "...You're right; I just hope that it isn't him." He confided, meeting her gaze with depressed eyes, as though already convinced of Joseph Willowbrook's guilt._

_"Same here, Clark." She consoled, grimacing. "Or those caves may be gone this time next month."_

_Which is what lead to the two sitting in the Torch office ruminating on the information that they had received; When the two teens had the white fur tested they expected either someone else from the Kawatchee tribe or Joseph himself. They did not expect the results that they actually received. "It's a partial match, but not completely." She said in disbelief._

_"So it can't be Joseph?" Clark queried, a sinking feeling forming in the pit of his stomach._

_"It's not Joseph," She confirmed with a grimace, looking up at him with a sympathetic glance. "But it's someone related to him."_

_"You mean...?" He trailed off as though unable to process just what she was telling him._

_"It's probably Kyla."_

* * *

><p>The blonde teen and her best friend sat at his kitchen table and waited for his parents to arrive home. Clark had been avoiding broaching the subject of her earlier affections; not because he didn't feel anything for her, but because he wasn't sure how he <em>did <em>feel. "So," She started, absently tracing a finger over the laminated print-out of the DNA test results. "How do you feel about... This?" She queried hesitantly, eyes shining in the light with pity.

"I don't know." He grit his teeth, clenching his fists underneath the table and thinking about the unexpected news. "I just can't believe that she would do something like this." He denied without conviction, licking his lips. "Maybe she has other family, a brother or sister; she's got to have parents!" He cycled through other possibilities as they occurred to him.

"No siblings, and her parents are dead. They died in the meteor shower, though Kyla was nowhere near there at the time, apparently." She revealed with a frown. "I'm sorry Clark, but Kyla's the only possibility."

"Damnit." He hissed, bringing up a hand to cradle his forehead. "I can't... This is... Damnit." He said once more, the reporter in training casting him a compassionate look.

The two were distracted from their conversation by the door near-slamming open, Martha Kent rushing into the house with wide, panicked eyes as she got in, only calming when she saw the other two sitting at the table; her son in particular. "Mrs. Kent, we were just waiting for you." Chloe said, green eyes scanning the woman in concern, brow furrowed. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, it's just that- a little while ago, as I was getting ready to come home I was attacked by- a wolf!" She huffed, swallowing in air in desperate gulps as she recounted her earlier misadventure.

"A white wolf?" Clark stood in alarm, despair growing with his rage.

"Yes." The redhead responded, eyes narrowed. "How did you know?"

He looked over to Chloe and tilted his head in his mother's direction, as though unable to speak the words himself. The blonde bit her lip and nodded, turning to the older woman. "It's Kyla Willowbrook. She's a Skin-walker, a shapeshifter." She clarified at the other woman's lack of comprehension.

"I've got to stop her." Clark grimaced, running out the door.

"Clark, wait!" Chloe yelped, running out the door to catch up to him and stopping when she realized that he was no longer in the nearby vicinity. "You idiot." She hissed in worry.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville.

**Chapter nine:**

* * *

><p>Chloe sympathetically rubbed the depressed farmboy's right shoulder. The tall youth had gone after Kyla in an attempt to stop her from making a fatal mistake; unfortunately that exact thing had happened, the Kawatchee girl had gone after Lionel Luthor and after clawing the billionaire across the face she'd leapt through the Luthor mansion's study window receiving a wound across her side from the stained glass that nicked one of her major organs, leading her to bleed out before he could get her to help.<p>

"If I'd just been quicker..." Clark lamented, eyes closed in guilty resignation.

Chloe shook her head at his words, clasping his shoulder tighter. "Clark, it's not your fault, we did all that we could do." She consoled compassionately.

"No, I could have figured it out quicker and stopped her, I could have gotten her out of there, I could have-" "-What, Clark? Helped her kill them? Helped her get away with murder?" She asked harshly, realizing that she wasn't getting through to him with kind words alone. "She was responsible for the death of the foreman working near the caves just because he was doing his job. She attacked your mother and hid the truth from you." Chloe shook her head regretfully. "I'm sorry for your loss, Clark. But who knows what else she would have done. You can't blame yourself for the mess she got herself into."

Clark stared at her for a moment, blinking in the wake of her tirade. "...I guess your right. Kyla shouldn't have attacked innocent people just for working with Lionel." He reluctantly agreed. "But still..." He trailed off, eyes downcast.

"Clark, say it with me now; 'There was nothing I could have done.'" She glared at him with all the menace her 5'4 form could muster, unintentionally causing him to smile slightly at her over-protectiveness.

""There was nothing I could have done."" He quoted after a moment of silence in which he nearly laughed at her look. "Just please don't kill me." He raised his hands in the air in mock-surrender, slightly uplifted by her comforting.

"Damn straight." She nodded decisively, beaming at him. "Now, I've got to get home before my dad or he'll kill me."

"Chloe," Said blonde turned from her spot next to the door, where she'd been about to leave for the night. "Thank you." He said genuinely, receiving a sift smile in return.

"I'll see you in the morning Clark."

* * *

><p>The Kryptonian teenager stared over the quarry from his place atop a nearby ridge, taking in the charred ground and the ruined machinery. Luthor corp hadn't had time to clear out the site due to the police cordoning off the area and not allowing anyone on site, even the people that were supposed to work there. He frowned as he took in the broken, twisted metal and blackened rock, keen eyes taking in the whole scene.<p>

Though it was sad that Kyla had died due to her actions, as he looked around he realized that it was the brunette Kawatchee girl's own fault; if she had just used her ability for good and tried not to hurt the workers and innocents (his own mother!) then things would have gone much differently. Maybe the two of them would be standing here and smiling at the caves, free of Luthor influence.

Chloe's words had brought him to his senses, however; he realized that try as he might to save everyone, some people hurt themselves just as much as others. Kyla was a prime example of this.

He turned and slowly made his way back toward the treeline, unknowing of the CCTV camera, red light blinking as it recorded him from the entrance to the sacred caves.

In the morning all the footage would be watched by Luthorcorp's security team and notice would be taken. Lionel Luthor would be informed and the billionaire would take a further interest than before in the Kent family.

Meanwhile a young brunette girl smirked malevolently as she stepped into the cornfields of Smallville, eyes flashing from deep brown to a pale blue.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville.

**Chapter ten:**

* * *

><p>Chloe smiled politely as she listened to Lana recount Whitney's surprise return and how he had marched through Smallville high to meet her. "Sounds pretty romantic; Could Ms. Lang be having feelings for the man in uniform?" She teased, secretly hoping that it was so. It would certainly remove another complication.<p>

"I don't know." Lana hedged nervously, shifting on the spot. "It's just that ever since Whitney got back he's been so different, so... Carefree. It's refreshing." The brunette confessed, turning her eyes away from Chloe to watch the Talon crowd and therefore missing the sympathetic look that she now sported.

"Well," The blonde started, quirking her lips in thought. "Maybe that's just what you need."

Before she could continue speaking said male wondered over, speaking with an excited Pete. "To tell the truth, I haven't really been that interested with football recently." He turned and fixed his blue eyes upon Lana's face, smiling. "I've realized that there's more important things out there and I want to focus on them."

Chloe could practically see Lana melt into a puddle of goo at the romantic words and shook her head in resignation. It wouldn't work out, that much she knew; however the other girl would at least enjoy it while it lasted, and that was something at least. The blonde turned away from them for a brief moment and lit up when she spotted a certain familiar farmboy. "Clark!" She yelled, waving for him to join them.

The massive youth grinned when he saw her bright face and made his way over. "Chloe, Pete, Lana... Whitney." He nodded at the other tall blonde, seeming unsure what to make of him.

"Kent." The former quarterback nodded in recognition, clenching his jaw when he saw the look that the tiny brunette sent toward the other teen. "Would you excuse me for a moment?" He smiled charmingly, making his way over to the bathroom.

Clark looked around at the others for a moment before quirking his lips awkwardly and making to follow the other boy. "I'll be right back."

Chloe squinted after him and turned to her other two friends, a curious expression on her face. "Okay, am I the only one that can feel the tension between those two?" She queried, pointing after them in emphasis.

"Nah, something's seriously got Whitney annoyed at Clark." Pete frowned. "Wonder what?"

"Who knows, maybe he said something logical and Whitney couldn't understand it." She jabbed as she did at all the jocks, former or current.

"Lay off," Lana started defensively, glaring at the two of them as though they were conspiring to murder. "Whitney has been through a lot. You can't judge him for being a little angry. Maybe Clark said something to bring back memories of the battlefield." She chided.

The other two teens exchanged looks and quickly nodded. "You're right, Lana. I'm sorry I was so insensitive." Chloe apologized with a confused frown. "I'll try to be more... Sensitive."

"Thank you." The brunette nodded at her words, leaving the two of them to stare after her retreating form.

"Okay..." Chloe trailed off. "Did I do something to make her mad, because she's been short with me lately, like, a LOT!"

"I don't know." Pete stared after the tiny girl and then both turned their gazes toward the bathroom as they heard a loud crash. "The hell was that?"

The two watched an angry Whitney leave the bathroom, followed shortly by a wide-eyed Clark. Lana walked over to him and they and the few people now remaining in the Talon watched as the girl started shouting at him. Both heard the words "Broke" "Bathroom" and "Whitney". "What the hell?"

* * *

><p>"Chloe!" Said girl turned and spotted Clark making his way toward her. She and Pete had been forced to leave before they could speak to him due to him being berated by Lana and had parted ways after leaving; as such they had yet to talk to him about what happened in the bathroom.<p>

"Hey!" She greeted nonchalantly, smiling like one would to a child that had just said something particularly stupid. "So, what happened in there with Whitney?"

Clark turned to her with his brow furrowed, as though he were still confused by what had occurred himself. "I walked into the bathroom and Whitney tore one of the stall's doors right off it's hinges."

Chloe blinked and raised an eyebrow. "O-kaaaay." She drawled. "That's definitely not normal behaviour. Did Lana blame you?" She asked with a frown.

"Yeah!" She leaned back slightly at his sudden exclamation. "And she called me a liar and told me that I should be ashamed at myself!"

"Whoa." Chloe grimaced and connected the dots in her head. "So Whitney's dangerous and capable of tearing a door off it's hinges. What are we thinking, meteor rocks? Ooh, government experiments!" She clapped excitedly, pausing as she took in the look he was giving her. "What?"

"Nothing." He tried to suppress his smile and shook his head. "I'm not sure. Maybe there's another exclamation."

"Like... PTSD?" She queried.

"PTSD?" He repeated, puzzled by the unfamiliar term.

"Post traumatic stress disorder, come on Clark, a fair few of the older people who live in Smallville served during Vietnam, and even WWII, you should know this." She huffed, looking up at him expectantly.

"Right." He agreed, embarrassed. "So you think Whitney might be traumatized?"

"Well... Yeah. His entire platoon was bombed, remember? That's gotta leave some after-affects." She chided.

"Right." He said once more. He scratched his head absently and regarded her with a look. "Well, I'm going to see Lex. I'll talk to you later."

"Trouble in paradise?" She cooed nonchalantly, subtly trying to coax a story out of him.

"Off the record?" He eyed her suspiciously.

The petite blonde pouted but nonetheless agreed to his stipulation. "Off the record." She repeated reluctantly.

He smiled and looked around before leaning in. "Apparently Lex and Helen are having relationship issues."

"Really?" She queried, surprised. "What happened?"

Clark frowned and pursed his lips in contemplation. "I'm not sure, apparently he thinks that she's been spying on him for his father. But he's afraid that he might have drove her away with a false accusation."

"Maybe he did, maybe he didn't." She shrugged at his puzzled look. "How much do we really know about Helen? She's a doctor, sure. But other than that? Not so much."

"But we don't _know _that she's a bad person. This could all just be one big misunderstanding." Clark insisted.

"I guess you're right." She relented, tilting her head. "But, still... Well... I suppose it's better to give her the benefit of the doubt."

"Exactly." Clark grinned victoriously, not noticing the light red hue that grazed the other teen's cheeks at his expression.

"Still, be careful Clark. Lionel Luthor's a snake and Lex, despite all that he may say, is still his father's son." She tsk'd, giving him an expression of sympathy.

"Chloe!" Clark stared at her, shocked.

"I'm not saying he's not a good guy!" She hurried to assure him. "But Lionel Luthor... He's a corruptive influence if ever there was one, Clark."

Clark paused and stared at her for a moment, frowning. "Chloe, I get what you're saying, really I do. But Lex loves Helen and I'm sure this is all just a misunderstanding." He said decisively.

"Alright, Clark. Just be careful and don't put your trust in Helen." She warned. "Something about her just seems... Off."

"Chloe, I understand that you're just trying to watch out for me, but Helen's a professional and I don't think she'd accept bribes from Lionel Luthor. Lex is just being a little paranoid because of his father." Clark assured her.

"I get that, Clark. Really I do. But as a doctor Helen can do a lot with money like Lionel Luthor totes around. Maybe she does love Lex, but as a person in the medical profession she can help a lot of people with that kind of moolah. And as a human being... Well, people are corruptible."

Clark hastened to deny her once more, but she could tell that something about her words had rattled him. "Chloe, I'll talk to you later." He waved her off, walking toward his faded red pick-up.

"Oh, Clark! Before you go." She jogged to catch up with him and meet his long-legged strides. "Could I catch a ride? I need to get to the Torch and print the latest issue before the after school activities end." She pleaded.

"Smallville high's in the other direction." He pointed out, grimacing at the extra distance that was added onto his journey.

"Please?" She pouted, laying a hand on his shirt and looking up at him with wide green eyes.

The Kryptonian froze as he looked down at her and the blonde smiled triumphantly at the resignation in his eyes. "Alright, I'll take you there. But we'll be going fast." He warned her.

"I'm pretty quick myself." She quipped, stalking ahead of him and waving back at his perplexed form. "Thanks, Clark!"

"It's fine." He murmured, distracted by the sway of her hips as she marched toward his means of transportation and heaved herself into the already open door.

"Come on Clark,I thought you said you were quick?" She teased from her place in the passenger seat.

He huffed and made to follow.


End file.
